This Changes Everything

Do you remember the first time you saw something and thought, this changes everything?

There was a time when having a phone in your car was absolute peak technology. Then came the flip phone. Come on—there was something satisfying about ending a call by just slamming that thing shut.

Then we could text. Okay, NOW this changes everything. I don’t have to talk to people! An introvert’s dream.

Then somebody put a camera on the phone, and we thought, Why would I need that? I already have a digital camera. In 2010, the world shipped almost 109 million little point-and-shoot cameras. By 2023? Only 1.7 million. The smartphone smashed the digital camera market.

And of course, we can’t forget Blockbuster. An entire store filled with movies, and you could walk around and choose whatever you wanted to watch. As long as all 47 copies of the new release weren’t gone. Then you just stared at the empty box, hoping somebody would return one while you were there. Which maybe happened once in my entire childhood!

Every one of these things came along and we thought, It will never get better than this.

And then it did. It always did.

Turns out, we’re not always very good at knowing what “better” looks like.

Jesus once told His disciples something that, if I were there, I’m pretty sure I would have argued with Him about, at least in my head.

For three years they had been walking around with Jesus, and they had seen some things. A wedding runs out of wine, and Jesus basically says, “Bring me some water.” Problem solved. A storm comes up on the lake, and Jesus says, “Too much water.” Storm over. Thousands of hungry people, nowhere to get food, somebody finds a kid with a Lunchable, and Jesus says, “Plenty.” Everybody eats.

Hungry? Jesus.
Storm? Jesus.
Sick? Jesus.
Dead? Still Jesus.

And beyond the miracles, imagine the conversations.

You don’t understand Scripture? Ask the Author.
You want to know what God thinks about something? Hey Jesus, quick question…

To them, Jesus is Blockbuster. This is as good as it gets.

And then Jesus drops a bomb on them: I’m leaving soon.

Wait, what?

Blockbuster is going out of business?

Then He says something that must have sounded even more ridiculous than Him leaving:

But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you. John 16:7 (GNT)

Better?!
Better than walking around with You, Jesus?
Better than hearing Your voice?
Better than watching You do miracles?

How could Jesus leaving possibly be better than Jesus staying?

But Jesus knew something they didn’t know. He wasn’t abandoning them. He was preparing them for what was coming. A couple of chapters earlier, around the same table, He told them:

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth… you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. John 14:16–17 (NASB)

They had spent three years experiencing God with them.
Now He says, I’m about to introduce you to what it means for God to be in you.

Today, we have the benefit of knowing what happens next.
We can read about the cross, the resurrection, and Pentecost.
We know who the Helper is.

The disciples didn’t know any of that yet.

Depending on your background, even saying “Holy Spirit” can mean very different things. Some of you grew up where somebody said “Holy Spirit” and you leaned in. Some of you grew up where somebody said “Holy Spirit” and you started looking for the nearest exit.

And for some, He wasn’t even Holy Spirit, He was Holy Ghost!

So wherever you’re coming from, I love that we can start with the words of Jesus. He talks a lot about the Holy Spirit. Which tells us something:

The Holy Spirit isn’t something weird on the edges of Christianity. He is central to the Christian life.

He isn’t less God.
He wasn’t added later. You only have to get to the second verse of the Bible to find Him:

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2

Before “Let there be light.” Before lions and tigers and bears. He was there.

One God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One what, three whos, if you will.

Important note: on the medals podium, the Holy Spirit isn’t the bronze. Nice try, man! We were pulling for you!

No.

There’s no ranking system here. Just all gold.

Jesus wasn’t exaggerating. Better is coming.

Better is here.